Brisbane Boys’ College had a disappointing season in 2022, winning just two of eight matches. 

But a talented squad, headlined by some impressive returning players, seem confident of turning things around this year and Director of Rugby Todd Dammers agrees. 

Overview with Todd Dammers: 

“I’m really enjoying being back in GPS footy and really enjoying my time at BBC. It’s been 15 or so years since I was last involved in the GPS competition and the landscape has changed quite a bit since then,” Dammers told Rugby News. 

“The boys have trained really well, had some good hitouts through the trial period and they’ve shown some okay form so far. I think we’ll go into round one pretty confident that we can give the competition a good shake. 

“Steve Kefu is our head coach and he’s done a great job. I get to sit back and watch a bit more and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen so far. We had a tough hit out early against Nudgee and they probably exposed some areas of our game where we needed to improve and we’ve been able to do that. 

“But I think that game also showed the boys that they can match it with the best in the competition and they gained a lot of confidence from that. Nudgee have been the benchmark forever in GPS Rugby and I noticed how much the boys lifted following that performance.  

“We’re happy and we’re healthy at this point of the year and that’s very important. 

“We’ve got our training camp coming up and I think we’ve only got one long term injury from a squad of 35, which shows what a great job our off field staff are doing. 

“The boys are excited and ready to play.”

2023 Squad: 

“It’s more of a senior group this year, with a lot of year 11 and year 12 boys returning. I don’t think we’ve got any year 10 boys that will be starting in the early rounds,” Dammers told Rugby News.

“Oscar Shaw and James Alexander are returning in the halves. They’ve both been named in the QLD U18s squad and they’re also top notch cricketers as well. 

“We’ve got two good locks in Harrison Angel and Avery Thomson. Harrison is returning from last year and Avery has just signed a long term development deal with the Reds. He’s a big 200cm boy who is going to grow and have a big, strong frame. 

“Harrison Angel is all energy. I was very fortunate to work with Dan Vickerman and Harrison has a very similar mentality to Dan. Dan used to wipe guys out in games and in training and Harrison has a bit of that about him as well. He’s the type of guy every team needs. 

“In the backs, Samson Tuqiri is an incredible talent. When he gets in space, I don’t think Samson knows what he’s going to do, let alone someone trying to defend him. He’s got a massive amount of upside and is going to be a serious footy player. 

“We’ve also got two good young players in Frank Howarth at inside centre and Charlie Bird at fullback who are worth keeping an eye on when they get their opportunity in the first XV.”

Which sides pose the biggest threat this season? 

“It’s going to be a really interesting competition and as much as things change over time, a lot stays the same,” Dammers said. 

“Nudgee are probably going to be the team to beat and Churchie will also be really strong. 

“I also think Toowoomba Grammar are going to be right up there, which is great for the competition. Scotty Gale is doing a really good job up there and I think if they can travel well and win in Brisbane, then they are going to be really hard to beat up in Toowoomba.”